Apparatus for forming scale-free metallic articles



Jan. 11, 1955 A. VAN HAANDEL APPARATUS FOR FORMING SCALE-FREE METALLIC ARTICLES 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 26, 1949 IN VEN TOR Origihal Filed an. 26, 1949 Jan. 11, 1955 A. VAN HAANDEL 2,698,950

APPARATUS FOR FORMING SCALE-FREE METALLIC ARTICLES 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Iii IN VEN TOR Jan. 11, 1955 A. VAN HAANDEL 2,

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ATTORNEYS Jan. 11, 1955 A. VAN HAANDEL 2,698,950

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APPARATUS FOR FORMING SCALE-FREE METALLIC ARTICLES Original Filed Jan. 26, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 I FIG.|3

ATTORNEYS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1949 Jan; 11, 1955 A. VAN HAANDEL 2,623,950

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I nitely shaped metallic United States Patent APPARATUS FOR FORMING SCALE-FREE METALLIC ARTICLES Adrianus van Haandel, Helmond, Netherlands, assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Nedschroef Octrooi Maatschappij, N. V., Helmond, Netherlands Original application January 26, 1949, Serial No. 72,983.

Divided and this application September 27, 1951, Serial No. 252,097

24 Claims. (Cl. -76) This invention relates to a system for producing defiarticles by pressure when their metallic mass is plastic. More particularly, it deals with a new method and apparatus for continuously forming metallic articles, such as nuts, bolts, rivets, washers, sleeves, collars, and similar metal ring-shaped, polygonal and other articles, from bar or strip stock which is heated until plastic, and then forming the desired articlels, under pressure in dies, from slugs cut from such stoc This application is a division of pending application Ser. No. 72,983, filed January 26, 1949 by Adrianus van Haandel for Process and Apparatus for Forming Metallic Articles.

These are two general methods of so producing such articles; one is the cold method, which requires a large,

complicated and heavy machine performing many operations to form the desired article from strip or bar stock which is cold and not very plastic; and the other is the hot method, in which the stock or slug from which the desired article is formed, is heated to red heat so that it will be more plastic and can be formed and shaped in dies in fewer operations and by smaller machines which are not so complicated or heavy. In both methods the dies in the machines are subject to great wear; in the cold method because of the relatively small amount of plasticity of the metal being worked, and in the hot method because of the hard oxide and other scale which always forms on the surface of the hot slugs being deformed in the dies. Accordingly, the dies must be replaced from time to time which is a material item of expense as well as a loss of time for operating the machine. Furthermore in the hot method the presence of scale on the finished article requires after treatment for its removal.

It is an object of this invention to produce a new, efiicient, economic, and effective hot method and appalratus for producing such pressure formed metallic artic es.

Another object of this invention is to present a method for producing articles by the hot method in which the amount of undesirable scale on the slugs to be deformed in the die or dies is materially reduced, thereby increasing the life'of the dies as well as increasing the uniformity, toughness, strength, sharpness of the edges and smoothness of the final products, which as a result require fewer after treatment operations, such as polishing and the like.

Another object of this invention is to produce a method and apparatus which may use stock metal bars or strips having cross sectional tolerances ranging as great as one millimeter to produce uniformly sized and closely gauged products so that the same gauge stock may be used for making both nuts and their corresponding bolts if desired.

Another object is to produce a comparatively light and compact machine for carrying out this new method, which machine is easy to operate, does not consume much power, and may be operated more rapidly than rior machines, thereby increasing the number of articlcs which may be produced in a given limit of time. 1 Another object is to produce such an apparatus which 's easily and in many different ways adjustable so that t may be adapted readily for the production of a large 'ariety of difierent shaped articles.

In accordance with this invention, the method com- 'to fit into the first forming die.

prises the new and additional step or steps of removing the scale from the hot plastic metallic slugs before they are pressed in the shaping or forming die or dies. This is accomplished by pre-pressing or squeezing the hot slugs, after they have been cut from the bar or strip of stock, between two surfaces to expand the other and exposed surfaces of the slugs to crack off the scale formed on them, and then may also include the step of permitting the slugs to drop of their own weight along a bent or crooked path to knock off against the sides of said path any other scale which may be still clinging to the silugs before the slugs are fed into the forming die or res.

This pre-pressing or squeezing operation or step is preferablycarried out only to a degree sufficient to crack and remove the scale on the slug and not to increase the dimensions of the slug to such a degree that it will not easily fit into the forming and shaping die. Thus, no material is cut from the outside edges of the squeezed slug by the die increasing the loss of material. This is accomplished by cutting slugs and using stock of sufficiently small dimensions so that the slugs may be deformed by the squeezing operation sufficient to crack off the scale, without becoming too flat or big around This squeezing operation, the degree of which may be adjusted, permits the use of a wider tolerance of starting stock or material, in that the slug is, in effect, slightly reshaped to the desired dimensions before being placed in the final shaping or forming dies.

The production of the desired articles mav comprise a furnace or heater for the stock to be pressed into the desired shape and a unitary machine or plurality of machines for performing one or more or all of the following operations:

1) Feeding the stock from the furnace into a cutting machine,

(2) Means to cut slugs from said hot stock,

(3) Means to pre-press or squeeze the slugs to remove the scale,

(4) A trough or chute, which is preferably not straight, through which the squeezed slugs pass to knock off more scale,

(5) Means to feed the scale-free slugs to the shaping or forming die, and

(6) Means to press the slugs in said die or dies to form the desired articles which in the case of nuts, for example, may include also means to punch the center holes there n.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invent'on taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation with parts of the driving wheels broken away, of one embodiment of a machine involving this invention as seen from the furnace or hot stock feeding side,

ig. 2 is a view of the right end of the machine shown in Fig. 1, also showing a part of the furnace,

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view partly in section of the machine in Figs. 1 and 2 showing the dilferent locations where the operations are carried out for producing a ring-shaped article, such as a hexagonal nut, from hot round bar stock,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the feeding mechanism taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an end view of the feeding mechanism taken along line VV in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a side view of the cutting off mechanism, shown in its first position, and a part of the squeezing mechanism, taken along line VIVI in Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the cutting and squeezing mechanisms shown in the position of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 6 with the mechanisms in their second position,

Fig. 9 is a plan view of Fig. 8,

Fig. 10 is similar to Fig. 6 with the mechanisms in their third position,

Fig. 11 is a plan view of Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view, with unrelated parts omitted, of the squeezing mechanism taken along lines XIIXII in Figs. 1 and 3,

Fig. 13 is a schematic view of the die or press feeding mechanism, with unrelated parts omitted, taken along line XIII-XIII in Figs. 1 and 3,

Fig. 14 is a horizontal sectional view, with parts broken away, of the nut forming and punching mechanisms in their first position,

Fig. 15 is a front view of the hexagonal nut forming die shown in section in Fig. 14,

Fig. 16 is similar to Fig. 14 showing the mechanisms in their second position.

Fig. 17 is similar to Fig. 14 showing the mechanisms in their third position, which corresponds to the position taken along line XVII-XVII in Fig. 13,

Fig. 18 is a vertical section through the center of the hole punching mechanism along line XVIII-XVIII shown in Fig. 17, and

Fig. 19 is similar to Fig. 14 showing the mechanisms in their fourth position.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown the exterior of one compact machine for feeding, cutting, squeezing, and then shaping or forming nuts or similar articles from bar stock. The bar stock 20 is first heated in a furnace 21 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 4) to a temperature at which the metal in the bar becomes plastic, say red-hot, i. e. between about 900 and 1100 C. or at about 1000 C. The furnace 21 is shown mounted on wheels 22 which roll on a track 23, so that it may be easily moved away from the machine when it is necessary to make adjustments, change the dies to make other parts or articles, or repair the machine.

The red-hot bar stock 20 is intermittently drawn from the furnace 21 by the feeding mechanism (see Figs. 3, 4 and 5) mounted on the machine and operated in synchronism therewith. This feeding mechanism is shown to comprise a pair of roughened grooved rollers 31 and 32 between the adjacent grooves of which the bar 20 is frictionally gripped so that when these rollers are rotated a fraction of a turn they will feed a predetermined length of the bar of stock into the machine until its end abuts against a retractable stop 33 (see Figs. 3, 4, 7, 9 and 11). The axial distance between the two feeding rollers 31 and 32 may be adjusted by means of the hand screw 34, and these rollers are intermittently driven through a mechanism 35 from cam shaft 36. As soon as the end of the hot bar 20 contacts the projecting abutment 33 (see Figs. 4 and 7), the hot bar is clamped into position against the stationary jaw 37 by a movable jaw 38, oper- 4 ated by cam 39 on shaft 36 (see Figs. 3 and 5).

When the end of the hot bar is firmly clamped, the cutting or shearing mechanism 40 operates to cut off the end of the hot bar between the jaws 37 and 38 and the abutment 33 to form a cylindrical slug 41 (see Figs. 10

and 11) which is simultaneously carried into position for being pre-pressed or squeezed to break off the scale on its cylindrical surface which accumulated while the bar from which it was cut was being heated in the furnace 21. This cutting mechanism 40 comprises a replaceable knife 42 the edge of which cooperates with the overhanging edge of the stationary jaw 37 to make a clean transverse cut through the bar 20 (see Fig. 9). As the cutting mechanism is moved to the right to cut off the slug 41, actuated by a cam 43 on the cam shaft 36, a pivoted jaw 44, pivotally mounted at 45 on the moving cutting mechanism, is urged into the position shown in Fig. 8 by spring 46 to hold the slug 41 against the face of the knife 42 while it is being cut off and transported into the position for being squeezed. The pivoted jaw 44 is held out of its clamping position in the first position shown in Figs. 6 and 7 against the action of the spring 46, by means of the roller 47 which rests against the stationary cam surface 48. Simultaneously with the motion of the cutting mechanism to the right, the abutment 33 is withdrawn from the position shown in Fig. 9 to its retracted position shown in Fig. 11 so that this abutment will not hinder the motion of mechanism 40. As soon as the slug 41 is moved into the position for being squeezed or pre-pressed shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the pre-pressing, upsetting or squeezing mechanism 50 is extended to clamp the slug 41 between its two freshly cut end surfaces and against stationary surface 51, so that when the cutting mechanism 40 is withdrawn to the left into the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the pivoted jaw 44 will pivot against the action of the spring 46 and slide over the top of the clamped slug 41.

The operation of the squeezing mechanism 50 can best be described in connection with Fig. 12 which 18 a vertical sectional view of the essential parts of this mechanism. The reciprocating motion of the mechanism 50 is effected by two parallel cams 60 and 61 mounted on cam shaft 63. Cam 61 is followed by a roller 64 mounted on an arm 65 pivoted at one end to the frame 66 of the machine at 67, and connected by a link 68 to the longitudinally adjustable squeezing mechanism 50. This mechanism comprises interthreaded cylindrical pieces 52 and 53 to adjust the length of the mechanism 50 which length is secured by a lock-nut 54. Piece 53 is connected to the replaceable pressing surface by a hollow piece 56 inside of which is located a compression spring 57, the compression of which may be adjusted by the screw cap 58 and its lock-nut 59. The action of the mechanism 50 is so synchronized that only the compression of the spring 57 pushing between the pieces 53 and 56 holds the slug 41 between the surfaces 51 and 55 until the cutting mechanism 40 and its jaw 44 is withdrawn to the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Then a change in the contour of the cam presses the inner end of the piece 53 into contact with the shoulder provided therefor in the piece 56 and positively pushes the surface 55 to the right to squeeze the hot slug 41 a given amount, predetermined by the adjustment of the relative position of the interthreaded pieces 52 and 53. The result in the particular apparatus disclosed, is that the slug 41 is flattened to form a thick disc 41 (see Figs. 6 and 7), but the disc is not flattened to the extent that it will not easily fit into the forming die described later. This operation takes place when the cutting mechanism 40 is in its first position ready to receive the next portion from the end of the bar stock 20. The pre-pressing or squeezing of the slug 41 into the disc 41' materially expands the free outer surfaces of the slug 41 so that the oxide and scale which does not have the same coefficient of expansion as that of the metal in the slug or is not so plastic, will crack away from the deformed metal at the surface junction between it and the scale, and the scale will thus fall off through the passageway 69 provided therefor in the machine frame (see Fig. 12). Since the two end surfaces of the slug 41 have just been freshly cut from the hot stack 20, they contain substantially no oxide or scale because they were not exposed in the furnace 21. Therefore these two opposite clean surfaces of the slug 41 can be contacted between the parallel squeezing surfaces 51 and 55, in that they need not be deformed for the removal of scale. Thus, only the scale coated surfaces of the slug 41 are deformed and the resulting gisc 41' is substantially free from scale on all of its suraces.

The squeezing mechanism 50 is withdrawn by the action of cam 61 against its follower 70 mounted on lever 71 pivoted to the arm at 72. The cam follower is adjustably held into contact with the cam 61 by spring 73 located in the sleeve 74 threaded in the end of lever 71 opposite from that end which supports the cam follower 70. Thus, the pulling of the mechanism 50 to the left, through its slide bearings mounted in aligned projections 75 and 76 on the frame 66, causes the shoulder 77 on piece 53 to engage the inside of the threaded cap 58 and withdraw the surface 55 into the position shown in Figs. 9 and 12, so that the disc 41 is free to fall by its own weight on to the curved, crooked, or bend chute 80 to be conducted and guided under the pull of gravity on its own weight to the next part of the machine. This next part herein is located at right-angles to those parts already described and has the added advantage of making the machine as a whole more compact. The trough or chute 80 down which the disc 41' slides and rolls is provided with a slot 81, or other shaped apertures, to permit any more scale which is knocked off of the disc 41' to drop through into passageway 69 and not clog the chute 80. Also the slight drop of the disc 41 from its squeezed position between surfaces 51 and 55 to the chute 80 aids in jarring loose any scale which has not fallen off during the squeezing operation.

Before continuing with the description and after the description of the details of the adjustability of the prepressing mechanism, it should be noted that the operation of the retractable abutment 33 may also be operated and be adjustable in a similar manner to that disclosed for the mechanism 50 and may also be controlled by an additiopal cam follower 78 mounted against the cam 61 (see Flg. 3) in another angular position than that of the cam follower 70, in that the abutment 33 is extended when the mechanism 50 is retracted and vice versa.

The remaining part of this description is directed to the shaping and forming mechanism to produce a smooth sharp-edged scale-free nut blank which needs substantially only the after treatment of being internally threaded. Any known hot method of forming a nut or similar article from such a disc may be employed without departing from the scope of this invention, in that the disc is still hot and comparatively plastic and if it is operated upon immediately, substantially no scale or oxides will have time to form again on its surfaces before entering the shaping die or dies. Therefore, referring to Fig. 13, there is shown in vertical section a schematic view of a die feeding mechanism 90 which may be operated by a cam 91 mounted on cam shaft 63 and followed by a cam follower 92 mounted on lever 93 pivoted to the machine frame 66 at 94 and connected by a link 95 to a crank having lever arms 96 and 97 journalled in frames 66 and 98. The motion of these levers through the means of slot 100 in lever 97 and pin 101 fixed to the mechanism 90 and movable in slot 100, reciprocates the mechanism 90. The cam follower 92 may be maintained against the surface of the cam 91 by means of springs 102 connected between the levers and the frame.

In the particular die or press feeding mechanism 90 shown, there are provided two pushing fingers 103 and 104 to successively move the disc into two adjacent forming and finishing die positions. Both fingers 103 and 104 are fixed to a horizontally sliding head 105, and the first finger is pivotally mounted at 106 on a rigid extension 107 and maintained in position by a spring 108. This first finger 103 is thus resiliently mounted so that it may give way easily to the motion of the outer edge of the pressing die which removes the disc 41 from the finger and pushes it into the die, which die is of larger inside diameter than the outside diameter of the disc 41' carried by the finger, so that the disc 41 will fit into the counter-sunk portion of the die as previously stated. The end of the chute 80 is so designed that only one disc 41' at a time may drop onto the first feeding finger 103 and when this finger is moved to the left it closes the lower open end of the chute 80 to prevent other discs from falling out. From the position shown in Fig. 13, which may correspond to the last of the preceding disc forming operations as shown in Figs. 17 or 19, the hot disc 41 to be shaped is moved by the mechanism 90 supported by finger 103 into the first position shown in Fig. 14 wherein the disc 41 is placed in front of the opening 111 in the counter-sunk or concave portion of the nut forming or shaping mechanism 110. The reciprocating and projecting portion 112 of this die mechanism 110 comprises a heavy cross-head 114 which is.reciprocated horizontally by a connecting link 115 between it and crank shaft 116 (see Fig. 3) which in the present machine is the main and primarily driven shaft.

This shaft 16 may be driven through speed reduction gears 117 and 118 and a safety clutch mechanism 119 (see Fig. 1), and may be directly connected through beveled gears 120 and 121 to the cam shaft 63. and this cam shaft may be then connected in turn through beveled gears 121 and 122 to the cam shaft 36, and this cam shaft 36 through mechanism 35 to the feeding mechanism, so that all the operations of the machine are in synchronism with each other and only a single source of driving energy is required. On the shaft 124 of the reduction gear 118 there may be provided a fiy-wheel 125 to add inertia to the operation of the machine and particularly the shap ing mechanism 110. Any suitable power source means may be employed for driving the machine, such as an electric motor, which may be geared to the drive shaft 124 or connected to the periphery of the fly-wheel 125.

Referring now specifically to Fig. 14, the disc 41' in front of the concave die 111 is now pushed from the finger 103 into the die 111 by the forward movement of the die portion 112. Continued pressure on the disc in the die by the projecting portion 112 pushes the ejector pin 130 back into its retracted position, and then the plastic metal in the hot disc 41' is pressed against the walls of the die to form the outside configuration of a hexagonal nut (see Fig. 15) as well as a partly pushed ole through its center by means of pin 131 of the pro- 'ecting movable die portion 112, as shown in Fig. 16.

111 and 112 have now completed their part of forming a nut from the disc 41' and are withdrawn so that the feeding mechanism may be re tracted again into the position shown in Figs. 13 and 17 and the upwardly extending portion of the finger 104 will not collide with the portion 112 of the die. The resulting nut-shaped piece 132 is then pushed from the die by means of the pin 130, which may be operated by a cam 133 mounted on cam shaft 36. As the piece 132 is removed from the die 111 it is placed onto the second feeding finger 104 which is now in the position shown in Figs. 17 and 19 and simultaneously a cooling fluid, such as water, may be forced out through the holes 134 in ejector (see Fig. 14) to cool the inside of the die 111. This cooling liquid may be introduced into the duct 134 through port 135 in the side of its sliding operating member 136 when this port is opposite an aligned port in the frame 66 of the machine, which occurs only when the member 136 is in its extended position as shown in Figs. 14 and 19. Thereby, the member 136 with its port 135 acts as a valve for controlling when the water is to be injected into the die for cooling and washing out the die 111.

Fromthe position shown in Fig. 19 while the press mechanism 114 is retracted, the feeding mechanism 90 is again operated so that the finger 104 moves the piece 132 into alignment with the punching mechanism 140, which also may be mounted at the end of the member 114 and operated at the same time as the first die forming mechanism. This punching mechanism completes the hole through the center of the piece 132 by sizing the hole and punching out the remaining button 141 against the die 142, so that the button falls down through passage way 143 and the completed nut blank 144 is pulled off the punch by the stationary apertured plate 145 (see Figs. 16, 17 and 18) as the punch is retracted, and then falls into another passage 146 for collection and later finishing, such as threading. Since both fingers 103 and 104 are connected to the same feeding mechanism 90, they are operated together so that when one disc is being fed to the shaping die 111, the disc which has just been shaped therein is being fed to the punching mechanism 140. If the completely formed nut blank 144 happens to rest on the retracting finger 104 when it is pulled off the punch by plate 145, it will be pushed off the finger 104 by the following piece 132 when it is pushed out of the die 111 by the ejecting mechanism 130, so that the completed nut will fall in the desired passage or hopper with the other completed nuts.

Although the foregoing description has been limited to a specific apparatus for the continuous production of nuts by the hot method from bar stock, it is within the scope of this invention to change the dies and adjustments of the machine disclosed to produce other forms of nuts, such as castle-nuts, square-nuts, round-headed nuts, etc., rivets, bolts, washers, and other similar types of metallic articles from heated bar or strip stock, which stock may be fed through the furnace either in cut lengths or from a reel. Also, the number of formation operations may be changed and the mechanism for performing the different operations may be divided between two or more different machines, as desired, without departing from the steps of the process of this invention. However, the particular combination of operations into one machine as herein described has material advantages as to compactness, efficiency. adaptability and synchronization of the movements. Furthermore the compactness and speed at which the disclosed unitary machine can operate, permits a lower temperature to be used in the furnace to maintain sufficient heat in the slugs to last until they are shaped, which is an additional advantage in the saving of heat energy input in the process.

The trough or chute means 86 for conveying the squeeze-'1 scale-free slugs to the forming press or die may be made of screen wire or may be provided with other types of holes, instead of the slot 81, for permitting the scale to fall through it, and its bend may take other forms than that of merely 90 as shown, without departing from the scope of this invention. It is desirable, however, that this chute is not straight in that its use in knocking the edges of the discs 41 as they fall down along it to remove scale would be lessened.

While there is described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by The first shaping dies 7 way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for automatically producing forged metallic articles from bar stock in cut lengths or from a reel and heated to a red hot temperature, including a main drive shaft, means driven by said shaft for feeding the hot stock endwise horizontally toward one side of the machine, means driven by the main shaft for shearing off slugs of predetermined length from the red hot stock to produce slugs having freshly-cut scale-free end faces, a descaling press including a horizontally movable member driven by the main shaft for pressing each slug endwise to bulge its peripheral surface and thereby crack off the scale thereon, means for moving each slug as it is sheared from the stock with its axis horizontal into the descaling press, a forming die having a part movable in a direction at a right angle to the direction of movement of said stock and driven by the main shaft, and means for transferring the slug from the descaling press to the die, said transferring means including means for turning the slug through a right angle and for presenting it with its axis aligned with the axis of the die.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, in which said die is located at a lower level than that of said descaling press and said transferring means includes a curved downwardly-extending chute for turning the slug through a right angle and down which the slug rolls with its axis normal to the run of the chute, the upper end-portion of which is located directly below the position of the slug when in the descaling press, the other end of the chute being located at a position adjacent to the die, and means for transferring the hot descaled slug from the lower end of the chute to the die.

3. In a machine for automatically producing forged metallic articles from bar stock in cut lengths or from a reel and heated to a red hot temperature and having scale on its peripheral surface, a main drive shaft, a second shaft at a right angle to the main drive shaft, a third shaft parallel to the main drive shaft, means for driving the second shaft from the main drive shaft and the third shaft from the second shaft, means driven by the third shaft for feeding hot bar stock parallel thereto and endwise horizontally toward one side of the machine, means actuated by the third shaft for shearing off slugs successively from the end of the hot bar stock as it is fed to the machine to produce slugs having freshly-cut scale free end faces, a descaling press adjacent to the shearing means, means for moving the slugs as they are sheared from the end of the bar stock in succession into the descaling press,

the descaling press including a movable member operatively associated with the second shaft for squeezing the slugs endwise to bulge their peripheral surfaces and crack off the scale thereon, a forming die having a part movable in a direction generally parallel to the second shaft and operatively associated with the main drive shaft, and means for transferring the scale-free slugs in succession from the descaling press to the die and for presenting the slugs to the die for endwise pressing with their axes in line with the axis of the die.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, in which the main drive shaft extends crosswise of the machine at one end thereof, the second shaft extends along one side of the machine and is geared to the main drive shaft, the third shaft extends crosswise of the machine at the end opposite the main drive shaft and is geared to the second shaft, and the stock feeding means is located along the side of the machine opposite the second shaft.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 3, in which the forming die is located at a lower level than that of the descaling press and said transferring means includes a curved downwardly-inclined chute for receiving the slugs from the descaling press and having a bottom wall on which the slugs roll while their axes are maintained normal to the run of the chute, said bottom wall being provided with an opening, whereby scale removed from the slugs may fall through the opening in the bottom wall as the slugs move down the chute toward the forming die.

6. An automatic machine for successively producing by pressure in a die metallic articles having a center hole from bar metal stock heated to a forging temperature, comprising an abutment gauge, means for intermittently feeding said hot bar stock endwise against said abutment gauge, means for shearing off a predetermined length of said stock after it engages the abutment gauge for producing slugs having scale-free freshly-cut ends, means for squeezing each slug endwise, means for transferring each slug as it is cut from the hot bar stock to said squeezing means in position for endwise squeezing, said squeezing means being adapted to squeeze the slugs endwise and bulge the periphery of the slugs, crack off the scale thereon and reduce them to a predetermined length, a forming die having a cavity for shaping said slugs to the desired exterior shape for said metallic articles, means for transferring the squeezed and bulged slugs free of scale to the cavity of said die and for presenting the resulting scalefree slugs in succession to the cavity of the forming die with their axes in line with the axis of the die cavity, means for pressing each slug in said die to the desired exterior shape, means for ejecting the formed slugs from said die, means adjacent said die for punching a center hole in the formed slugs, and means for successively transferring the slugs removed from said die to said punching means and for presenting the formed slugs in succession to said punching means with their axes in line with the axis of the punching means.

7. An automatic machine as claimed in claim 6, including means associated with said punching means for removing the punched slugs from the punching means.

8. An automatic machine as claimed in claim 6, in which said ejector means is provided with means for delivering a cooling fluid to the interior of the die when the ejector means is in its ejecting position.

9. An automatic machine for successively producing by pressure in a die forged metallic articles from bar metal stock heated to a forging temperature, comprising means for feeding the hot bar stock horizontally endwise to one side of the machine, means for shearing off slugs of predetermined length successively from said stock as the bar metal stock is fed to the machine to produce slugs having freshly-cut scale-free ends, a horizontal descaling press including a horizontally movable member located adjacent the shearing means, means for transferring each slug as it is cut from the hot bar stock with its axis horizontal to said descaling press in a position so that the scale-free ends of the slug are engaged by the descaling press, said descaling press being adapted to support the slug solely by its scale-free ends with its periphery free for the scale to crack ofi, means for actuating said movable member to engage and squeeze the slug endwise to bulge its peripheral surface to crack off the scale produced on the stock and to thereafter release the bulged slug, a forming die having a cavity for shaping the bulged slugs to the desired exterior shape for said metallic articles, means for transferring the bulged slugs released by the descaling press in succession to the die including means for presenting the bulged scale-free slugs to the die cavity with their axes in line with the axis of the die cavity for endwise pressing therein, and means for pressing each slug in said die cavity to the desired exterior shape.

10. In a machine for automatically producing forged metallic articles from round bar metal stock in cut lengths or from a reel heated to a red hot plastic state, said machine comprising means for clamping a length of said hot stock a predetermined distance from one end thereof, means for cutting off the end portion of said length of stock projecting from the clamping means at a point immediately adjacent to the clamping means to produce a slug having freshly-cut end faces, said clamping means comprising a pair of jaws which are relatively movable toward and away from each other and which are adapted to grip said stock during the time the stock is being cut by said cutting means whereby cylindrical shaped slugs are produced, means for upsetting said slugs endwise to bulge the slugs sufiiciently to crack off the scale from their peripheries, means for moving the slugs as they are cut from the hot bar stock in succession to the upsetting means with their end faces respectively in position to be engaged by said upsetting means, a forming die, means for transferring the bulged slugs as they are released by the upsetting means to said forming die and for presenting the slugs while at a forging temperature in succession to the die with their axes in line with the axis of the die for endwise pressing therein, and means for pressing the resulting slugs successively in said forming die for shaping them into said articles.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 10 in which said slug cutting means includes a movable knife, and in which one of said jaws is arranged to cooperate and cooperates end of a length of said hot bar with the movable knife for cutting said hot bar stock while the bar stock is clamped between said jaws.

12. Apparatus for producing successively by pressure in a die metallic articles from red hot bar metal stock, comprising an abutment gauge, means for intermittently feeding a length of hot bar stock endwise against said abutment gauge, means for intermittently clamping said stock a predetermined distance in front of said abutment gauge, means for successively shearing off predetermined lengths of said stock between said abutment gauge and said clamping means as said hot bar stock is fed endwise against the abutment gauge to produce slugs having freshly-cut end faces, means for successively squeezing said slugs endwise, means for holding each slug as it is sheared from the bar stock and for transferring said slug to said squeezing means, said squeezing means having two parallel surfaces between which the freshly cut ends of said slugs are held and squeezed to bulge the periphery of the slugs and crack olf the scale on said periphery, an inclined chute into the upper end of which said slugs are dropped from the squeezing means and down which they roll with their axes normal to the run of the chute to knock off any remaining scale, said chute having an aperture in its bottom through which said scale falls to separate said scale from the resulting slugs, a press die, means for feeding said scale-free slugs from said chute to the press die and for presenting said scale-free slugs in succession to the press die with their axes in line with the axis of the die, and means for pushing said slugs successively into said die and for pressing said slugs into said articles.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which said articles are machine nut blanks and the apparatus includes additional means for forming a center hole in the slugs, and in which said means for feeding slugs from the chute to said press die includes means to feed said pressed slugs to said means for forming a center hole in said slugs and for presenting the pressed slugs in succession thereto with their axes in line with the axis of the holeforming means.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which said articles are machine nut blanks, and in which said means for pressing said slugs into shape includes a punching means adjacent the press die and operable therewith, and means for transferring the formed slugs successively to the punching means in axial alignment therewith, said punching means including a punch and a bafile, said bafile being arranged to remove the punched nut blanks from the punch of the punching means when the punch is retracted.

15. An automatic machine for producing under pressure in a die definitely-shaped metallic articles from hot plastic metal slugs having scale on their peripheral surfaces and scale-free ends, said machine comprising means for squeezing said slugs endwise with their peripheral surfaces unsupported to bow the slugs and break the scale from their peripheral surfaces, means for separating the scale from the squeezed slugs including a chute into which said slugs are successively dropped from the squeezing means and down which they pass under the pull of gravity on their own weight with their axes normal to the run of the chute, said chute being provided with an outlet to permit the scale to fall therethrough away from said slugs, said machine including a forming die having a die cavity, means for successively transferring the slugs from the chute to the die and for presenting the slugs in succession to the die cavity with their axes in line with the axis of the die cavity for endwise pressing therein, and means for pressing said scale-free slugs in said die to form said articles.

16. The machine of claim wherein said chute comprises a pair of parallel spaced angle strips arranged to form a trough through which said slugs are guided by the upright sides of the angle strips, said scale falling through the space between said strips in the bottom of the trough.

17. An automatic machine for successively producing under pressure in a die definitely-shaped metallic articles from red hot bar metal stock having scale on its periphery, comprising means for cutting slugs successively from one stock including means for clamping said bar stock adjacent the end portion to be cut OE and means cooperating with the clamping means for shearing off said portion of said bar stock adjacent said clamping means to produce slugs having freshly-cut scale-free substantially parallel end faces, means for uplsetting said slugs endwise to bulge the slugs and crack off scale on the periphery of said slugs, means for holding each of said slugs as it is sheared from the end of said bar stock and for transferring the sheared off slug to said upsetting means, means for transferring the scale-free slugs from the upsetting means freely by their own weight to a point below the upsetting means and for separating said scale from said slugs, said machine including a forming die, means for presenting the scale-free slugs delivered by said transferring means successively to the die with their axes in line with the axis of the die, and means for pressing the resulting scale-free slugs successively into said die for shaping them into said articles.

18. An automatic machine for successively producing under pressure in a die definitely-shaped metallic articles from red hot bar metal stock having scale on its periphery, comprising means for cutting slugs successively from one end of a length of said hot bar stock to produce slugs having freshly-cut scale-free ends, means for upsetting said slugs to bulge the slugs and to crack 013? scale on the periphery of said slugs, said upsetting means including two parallel relatively movable opposing surfaces for engaging the freshly-cut scale-free ends of each slug and for holding said slug solely by its freshly-cut ends during the upsetting of the slug to permit the scale to crack off its periphery, means for moving the slugs as they are cut from the bar stock to the upsetting means with their end faces respectively opposite said opposing surfaces, a forming die, means for transferring the resulting scale-free slugs from the upsetting means to said forming die and for presenting the scale-free slugs in succession to the die with their axes in line with the axis of the die for endwise pressing, and means for pressing the resulting scale-free slugs successively in said forming die for shaping them into said articles.

19. An apparatus as described including an automatic machine as claimed in claim 18, said apparatus including a heating means mounted on wheels for heating the bar metal stock to red heat and located adjacent the means for cutting slugs, said heating means being readily movable on said wheels away from the cutting means to permit ready access thereto, and means in the machine for feeding a length of hot bar stock from the heating means to the means for cutting slugs.

20. An automatic machine for successively producing under pressure in a forming die definitely-shaped metallic articles from hot plastic bar metal stock having scale on its peripheral surface, comprising a forming die having a die cavity, means for cutting slugs successively from one end of said hot bar stock to produce slugs having freshlycut scale-free end faces, means for upsetting said slugs to crack off scale on the periphery of said slugs, said upsetting means including two parallel relatively movable opposing surfaces for engaging the freshly-cut scale-free ends of each slug, means cooperating with the cutting means for moving each slug to the upsetting means with its end faces respectively opposite said opposing surfaces, means for moving said surfaces relative to each other for squeezing the slug endwise and bowing its peripheral surface to crack oil the scale therefrom, means for controlling the extent to which said slugs are squeezed for squeezing the slugs to a thickness less than the depth of the die cavity in which the slugs are pressed, means for transferring the resulting scale-free slugs from the upsetting means to the forming die and for presenting them to the die with their axes in line with the axis of the die for endwise pressing therein, and means for pressing the resulting scale-free slugs successively into said forming die cavity for shaping them into said articles.

21. An automatic machine for successively producing under pressure in a die definitely-shaped metallic articles from hot plastic bar metal stock having scale on its periphery, comprising means for cutting slugs successively from one end of a length of said hot bar stock to produce slugs having scale-free end faces, means for upsetting said slugs endwise to bulge the slugs and crack oif scale on the periphery of said slugs, means for transferring said slugs directly from the cutting means to the upsetting means, means for transferring the substantially scale-free slugs freely by their own weight and for separating scale from said slugs including an inclined chute into which said slugs are dropped from the upsetting means and down which they roll with their axes normal to the run of the chute to knock off any remaining scale clinging to them, said chute being provided with an aperture through which the scale may fall to separate scale from the slugs moving down the chute, a forming die having a die cavity, means for transferring the resulting scale-free slugs from the lower portion of the chute to the forming die and for presenting them to the die cavity in succession with their axes in line with the axis of the die cavity for endwise pressing therein, and means for pressing said resulting scale-free slugs successively in said forming die for shaping them into said articles.

22. An automatic machine for successively producing under pressure in a die definitely-shaped metallic articles from hot plastic bar metal stock having scale on its periphery, comprising means for cutting slugs successively from one end of a length of said hot bar stock to produce slugs having scale-free end faces, means for upsetting said slugs endwise to crack off scale on the periphery of said slugs, means for transferring the slugs in succession from the cutting means to the upsetting means and for presenting the slugs for endwise pressing, a forming die having a cavity, means for transferring said slugs from the upsetting means to said forming die, and for presenting the resulting scale-free slugs in succession to the cavity of the forming die with their axes in line with the axis of the die cavity, means for pressing slugs in said forming die to form the exterior shape of said articles, and means for ejecting the pressed and shaped slugs from said die cavity including an ejector pin, said pin including ducts through which a cooling fluid may be forced into direct contact with the walls of said die cavity to cool and wash out the die cavity when said pin is in its ejecting position.

23. In a machine for automatically producing forged metallic articles from bar metal stock in cut lengths or from a reel heated to a red hot plastic state in which a length of the hot bar metal stock is advanced intermittently endwise to a slug cutting means which successively shears 01f portions of the hot bar stock to form hot slugs of predetermined length having substantially parallel end faces, means for successively compressing said hot slugs endwise with their peripheral surfaces unsupported to reduce their lengths and bulge their peripheral surfaces, means for transferring the hot slugs successively as they are cut from the hot bar stock directly to the compressing means, a die having a die cavity for forming said definitely-shaped metallic articles, means for transferring the bulged hot slugs from the compressing means in succession to the die and for presenting them to the die cavity with their axes in line with the axis of the die for endwise pressing therein, and means for successively pressing the bulged hot slugs in said die.

24. In a machine for producing metallic articles under pressure in a die from hot metal slugs, said die having a die cavity and comprising: a reciprocating ejector pin for ejecting said slugs after they are pressed in said die, said ejector pin being provided with a longitudinal duct thereing having at least one opening in its side wall connected with said duct and directed against the side wall of said die cavity when said pin is in its ejecting position, whereby a cooling fluid may be forced through said duct into said die cavity to cool and wash-out said die cavity when each shaped article is ejected, said opening in said ejector pin being closed when said ejector pin is in its retracted position and a slug is being pressed in the die cavity.

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